Archive for November 5th, 2008

Senator Richard Lugar, before he even had the chance to get asked, may have turned down a potential opportunity to serve in Barack Obama’s cabinet.  Though this story appeared on WTHR’s website the day after the election, it does not give any indication as to when the question asked.

Via WTHR:

Indiana republican Senator Richard Lugar says he is not interested in serving in a Barack Obama White House.

There had been speculation that the next president might select Lugar to serve on his cabinet. But during a recent news conference in South Bend, Lugar made clear he wanted to continue to serve in the Senate.

“I responded to a student question earlier in the day. They were asking whether I was interested in a Cabinet position or some other situation. And I said, ‘No, I’m not,’ because really from the time that I came back from the Navy, tried to save our family business, this is with by brother, a farm and a manufacturing concern, I’ve wanted to be my own boss - an independent spirit. And that I have been able to do as mayor of Indianapolis or as senator. I appreciate that opportunity. I think I can be the greatest value to the country, really giving independent judgments. It’s the best judgment I can give. So whoever it is, whether it’s my friend John McCain or my friend Barack, I’m going to do the best we can when called upon,” he said.

This is priceless, especially since the left in this state so readily dismiss Becky Skillman.  She may be one of the most underrated elected officials in this state, but we at Hoosier Access have a very high opinion of the LG and do not underestimate her abilities.

“Jill Long Thompson, Emily’s List and the feminist movement must see the handwriting on the wall.”

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 /Christian Newswire/ — Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund President Marjorie Dannenfelser commented on the results of the race for Indiana Governor and Lieutenant Governor:

“Jill Long Thompson, Emily’s List and the feminist movement must see the handwriting on the wall. Becky Skillman is the new model of woman’s political leadership — centered on her obligations to nation, community and family. The old worn-out model, the ‘me’ centered standard staged by women four decades ago remains unfulfilled. Indiana women now know abortion can’t be the center of a sustained feminist movement.”

Since its founding, the nonpartisan Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund has helped elect 75 pro-life candidates to the House, seven to the Senate, and seven to other statewide offices across the country. The Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund endorsed Governor Mitch Daniels and Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman earlier this year.

The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 150,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.

www.sba-list.org

I’m no fan of Keith Olbermann, let alone Ben Affleck, but this impression is dead on.  And after election day, I would say we all need a little levity.’

On behalf of all of us at Hoosier Access, I want to give a hearty thank you to Michael Davis and everybody at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.  Without them, we couldn’t have given you the kind of coverage we provided last night.  We were able to work together as a cohesive unit to provide you, the reader/viewer the most comprehesive coverage of Indiana State House races, assessor referendum updates as well a intriguing looks at some competetive national races to provide you unique coverage with a Hoosier flair.  (And the Jimmy John’s…the sub shop not the registered Lake County voter..and Red Eye Cafe were really good too!)

In our continuing quest to give you the best coverage of Indiana politics and in light of our teaming up with the Indiana Chamber, I encourage all of our readers to check out the Chamber PAC’s General Election Results Report.

Click the picture below.

(Post updated to reflect Democrat Scott Reske’s victory in HD 37 after barely holding off Republican challenger Kelly Gaskill)

Here is a note to my fellow conservatives and Republicans.

I did not have the highest of expectation for last night.  I had hope that John McCain might some how pull off a miracle (because really that’s what he needed to win), but it wasn’t a lot of hope.  And like many of you who may have stayed up fairly late (after the webcast which ended at midnight, I went out and picked up yard signs to get some much needed alone time) I’m still recovering from yesterday’s action.  But I came to this conclusion.

It’s time to face the facts.  Barack Obama will be our 44th president.  And a historic congratulations should be sent his way.  But we should take solace in the fact that Democrats did not net major gains in the House or get their filibuster proof Senate, though they could still up with (a worst case scenario) 59 seats.

But there were some positives for us as well last night.  Governor Daniels smoked Jill Long Thompson (no surprise there) and Greg Zoeller and Tony Bennett won their statewide races.  The Indiana House will end up with only one seat gained by the Democrats after much hand wringing they could end up with as many as a three to four seat gain. On the congressional level.  Everybody stayed the same.  Many thought Congressman Souder could be a loss in the Republican column, but he showed his tenacity and didn’t just win by a small margin, he kicked his young upstart opponent to the curb.

But now onto my message.

Fellow Republicans, this is no time to give up.  This is also no time to resort to childish pettiness, bemoaning and name calling that the left resorts to when they lose.  This is a time to step up!  We do have a lot of ground to make up nationally, and while our state still leans red, it certainly is becoming a closely and evenly divided state.

We need to re-energize our base and return to what made our party great!  I encourage our state and national Republicans to return to the principles and virtues of the Contract with America.  We need to raise the level of discourse on the issues that matter most to Americans at this time; the economy and energy independence.  And while I believe social values cannot be ignored (though we must never give up on the issue of Abortion), we must understand, as a Party, that in these tough economic times, voters are thinking mostly with their wallets.  We must return to a message of fiscal restraint.  We must hammer the message of an “all of the above’ approach to energy independence.  We must hold our new President’s feet to the fire when it comes to the issues of coal and nuclear power.  Nothing can be off the table if we want to break free from the shackles of foreign oil.  President-Elect Obama seeks energy independence, but he must seek all avenues, closing off nothing.

We lost the American’s public’s faith in us when we lost our way as a party.  We have only ourselves to blame for the situation we are in.  Now is the time to make up for our past mistakes.  Now is the time to take action and to be the party of solutions and ideas.  We gave that away, but it’s time to take it back!

(But should you need it, here is Red State’s Obama Administration Survial Guide)

Just found the results by township for Public Question #1

All EIGHT remaining Township Assessors in Marion County are gone.

Here’s a spreadsheet (requires Microsoft Excel) of the results by township.

Hey, we can be gracious losers.